Growing Up, Growing Apart, and Coming Together
by Yippie
Summary: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had very different childhoods, but when it comes to watching their children grow up they find common ground in a time of crisis.


**A/N: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Written for The Houses Competition**

**House: Lions**

**Class: Potions**

**Category: Drabble**

**Prompt: [Spell] Nox**

**Word count: 1074**

Draco sat on a stool outside of Borgin and Burkes. Like all of Knockturn alley, the shop had been raided by the ministry after the end of the second wizarding war. The human bones, cursed relics, and illegal artifacts had been removed. The vanishing cabinet was long gone. Even so Draco could never be comfortable in the place.

He had a good reason for coming. His ten-year-old son, Scorpius had been in a foul mood of late. He came home from the muggle primary school and went directly to his room without speaking to his parents. Increasingly, he seemed to prefer spending time at Malfoy Manor with his grandparents, with whom Draco still had a strained relationship. Borgin and Burkes catered to the older children around Halloween. At the moment, Scorpius was engaged in carving a pumpkin into the shape of the Grim Reaper. Draco walked over to sit nearer to the boy.

"It looks nice," he said, deciding not to mention it looked fairly morbid. Instead he reached into his pocket to draw out a candle and placing inside the pumpkin, "Lux" he murmured, and the candle lit up.

"No it's not." Scorpius mumbled, not making eye contact. "I don't care anyway, pumpkin carving is for babies." The boy stood up without looking at his father. "I don't want any tricks or treats this year either," he said as his anger and frustration started to boil over. He kicked the pumpkin. Draco flinched. "Nox," he muttered, putting out the candle as nearby children fluttered away. He began to stride quickly and authoritatively after Scorpius, who was walking away.

Meanwhile in Diagon Alley, Harry Potter was accompanying his daughter to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. With her brothers off at school, Lily had been more withdrawn than usual. Harry hoped the trip would lift her spirits. Given his history, he had never been a fan of Halloween himself, but felt compelled to make the holiday enjoyable for Lily. At the moment though he seemed to mostly be forbidding the nine-year old from buying stink bombs to mail to her brothers at school at the encouragement of George Weasley. Right now, she had a piece of parchment that would conjure text suggesting a bad idea to the recipient of a message written on it.

Not wanted his sons to be enticed to a death-day party, Harry vetoed the enchanted parchment. Meanwhile, Draco found his son in a corner of Borgin and Burkes. Scorpius was holding a oblong stone. There was a long scratch near one end, but otherwise the surface was shiny and smooth. He was tossing the stone up and down, resolutely refusing to look at his father.

Draco sighed internally. Trying his hardest to keep his voice level he said, "Scorpius, I know you're frustrated, but…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. At that moment Scorpius missed his catch and the stone clattered on the stone flooring. A bright light emitted from the crack. The light quickly expanded to cover the entire stone. Instinctively, Draco placed himself between Scorpius and the rapidly expanding ball of light. Once the light reached the size of baseball it began to swirl. The crowded store left little room to back away and soon Draco's foot was enclosed in the maelstorm's path. He hadn't suspected the force and quickly fell down. From the floor he was briefly able to see Scorpius's face transform into a mask of fear before he was sucked in.

Unaware of his old rival's fate, Harry continued shopping with Lily. Before long, however, he saw a light in his peripheral vision. The whirlpool expanded quickly into the store and sucked Harry and Rose into it.

Harry couldn't see inside the whirlpool; he was blinded by the bright light. A heavy thud signaled the collision of something metal with his shoulder. "Rose!" he yelled out, trying not to panic. Another collision, this time with something human. Harry instinctively grasped the other being's arm.

"Who is it?" he heard the other voice say.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, relieved for perhaps the first time in his life to be so well known.

"Potter," the voice said, and Harry didn't have to wait for the end of the sentence to know he was speaking to Draco. "We need to find my son."

Harry's grip tightened as the two tumbled through the storm. How they would find anybody in this light? Amid the screaming around him an old memory came to mind. "HAVE YOU GONE MAD! ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" Ron had yelled that when he and Harry were trapped in Devil's Snare in their first year as Hermione despaired that they had no wood to start a fire. The memory jolted him to action, and he reached for his wand, glad to find it was still in its carrier on his waist. "

"NOX," he yelled. Nothing happened. He tried again and could dimly make out a dark spot an inch or so in radius at the tip of his wand but no further. As he began to despair Draco's voice matched his and the ball of darkness expanded. It was large enough now to surround both men. Harry's eye's adjusted and he saw what had hit him early—it was Sirius's old flying motorcycle. He released one of his arms from Malfoy and swiped it in front of his body as if swimming. He moved closer to the bike. To his immense relief he saw Lily's arms gripping the inner edge of the sidecar. With one more stroke he was able to grab on, dragging Draco after him.

Wonderfully, the bike's engines worked against the ephemeral light swirling around them. It was a turbulent ride, but as they searched for Scorpius Harry and Draco were able to initiate a chorus of wizards crying out "Nox, Nox, Nox." The light seemed to retreat. When they found the boy, Harry turned the car away from the center of the remained light and accelerated. With a jolt, the car landed under the nighttime sky in Diagon Alley.

Harry and Draco dismounted and helped the children out of the sidecar. They did not speak to each other—there were more pressing concerns at the moment. They received their children from the side car. Scorpius didn't speak, but he didn't shrug away his father's touch and seemed maybe to lean just a bit into it. Draco nodded slightly. It was something.


End file.
